The Kyiv Post has physically taken up space over its nearly 25 years of existence in the following locations:
• Founder Jed Sunden’s apartment, as the legend goes;
• Lesia Ukrainka Boulevard in the Pechersk neighborhood;
• Bazhana Street on the left bank of the Dnipro River;
• Saksahanskoho Street near Peremohy Square;
• Prorizna Avenue near Zoloti Vorota;
• Novikonstantivovka Street in the Podil neighborhood;
• Pushkinska Street between Shevchenko Park and Lva Tolstoho and Khreshchatyk streets (the most recent location that we had for the last eight years, longer than any other office space);
But we are moving this weekend to what will be our eighth office in 25 years.
As locations go, the current 31a Pushkinska St. office can’t be beat – all three metro lines within easy walking distance. For aesthetics, it was easily beat: The electrical and water supply was not the most reliable. The roof leaked during heavy rainfalls. The office itself was a converted residential apartment of a long-ago era, so plenty of wasted space and closed-off rooms. We were cramped and we needed to rent an adjunct office on the first floor for additional space.
Starting on Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, the Kyiv Post enters a bright new era ahead of our 25th birthday on Oct. 18, 2020.
Thanks to Kyiv Post publisher Adnan Kivan, owner of the KADORR Group in Odesa, the newspaper is moving into its very own office. We have 455 square meters of modern space on 68 Zhylianska St., between Pankivska and Tarasivska streets, in a 23-floor building of mainly residential apartments. The office rooms are transparently enclosed by glass walls and, for the first time in years, all employees will be working in essentially the same room.
Of course, the office was designed already in another era – the pre-coronavirus period of 2019. But while much of the Kyiv Post workforce is still working remotely, the era of the office is far from dead. If we’ve learned anything from the pandemic, it’s that to fully harness the collective wisdom of a single team, we all need to be together – to know each other, to brainstorm, to build connections, trust and relationships and to generate ideas in a casual yet professional atmosphere.
As we move, we have 48 workplaces for a slightly fewer number of people, but the empty places will get occupied by interns and freelancers in the available “hot desks.”
It may not be mean much to the outside world, but for the loyal Kyiv Post reader, rest assured that the new set-up – which includes a much-needed video studio on the same floor – will make us a better newspaper.
People matter the most, as always, in any business. We’ve learned how much work that people can do remotely during COVID-19, but we’ve also learned the limitations of being dispersed and unable to gather in one place. Space matters too. Please feel free to pay us a visit at our new digs! We welcome visitors.
